PsicoQuilombologia: escrevivência de uma psicologia das encruzilhadas em tempos pandêmicos / PsychoQuilombology: writexperience of a psychology of crossroads in pandemic times / PsicoQuilombología: escrivivencia de una psicología de la encrucijada en tiempos pandémicos

O texto é um relato de experiência da participação no Grupo de Estudos psicoQuilombologia ocorrida nos meses de setembro de 2020 a março de 2021, período atravessado pela segunda onda da pandemia de COVID-19 no Brasil. O objetivo do relato é apresentar o conceito-movimento de psicoQuilombologia como uma proposta epistemológica quilombola de agenciamento de cuidado e saúde, com base em uma escuta que se faça descolonial e inspirada no fecundo e ancestral acervo de cuidado dos povos africanos, quilombolas e pretos, preservado e atualizado em nossos quilombos contemporâneos. A metodologia utilizada é a escrevivência, método desenvolvido por Conceição Evaristo que propõe uma escrita em que as vivência e memórias estão totalmente entrelaçadas, imersas e imbricadas com a pesquisa. O resultado das escrevivências dessa pesquisa descortinam que os povos pretos desenvolveram práticas de cuidado e acolhimento às vulnerabilidades do outro, enraizadas no fortalecimento de laços e conexões coletivas de afetos e cuidado mútuos. Práticas de cuidado que articulam memória, ancestralidade, tradição, comunidade, transformação, luta, resistência e emancipação, engendrando modos coletivos de ser e viver. Nas quais cuidar do outro implica tratar suas relações e situar o cuidado como extensão de uma cura que se agencia no coletivo. O trabalho conclui apontando que o cenário pandêmico vigente acentua a pungência de se desenvolver estratégias de cuidado baseadas em epistemologias pretas e quilombolas, valorizando os sentidos de ancestralidade, comunidade, pertencimento e emancipação.(AU)

The text is an experience report of the participation in the psicoQuilombology Study Group that carried out from September 2020 to March 2021, during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil. The purpose of the report is to introduce the concept-movement of psicoQuilombology as a quilombola epistemological proposal for the development of care and health, based on a decolonial listening and inspired by the rich care collection of African peoples, quilombolas and Blacks, preserved and updated in our contemporary quilombos. The methodology used is writexperience [escrevivências], a method developed by Conceição Evaristo who proposes a writing in that the experiences and memories are totally involved with the research. The result of the writability of this research show that Black people have developed practices of care and acceptance of the other's vulnerabilities, based on the strengthening of ties and collective connections of mutual affection and care. Care practices that mix memory, ancestry, tradition, community, transformation, struggle, resistance and emancipation, outlining collective ways of being and living. The core idea is that taking care of the other means treating your relationships and maintaining care as an extension of a cure that takes place in the collective. The paper concludes by pointing out that the current pandemic scenario demonstrates the urgent need to develop care strategies based on black and quilombola epistemologies, valuing the senses of ancestry, community, belonging and emancipation.(AU)

Este es un reporte de experiencia de la participación en el Grupo de Estudio psicoQuilombología que ocurrió en los meses de septiembre de 2020 a marzo de 2021, periodo en que Brasil afrontaba la segunda ola de la pandemia de la COVID-19. Su propósito es presentar el concepto-movimiento de psicoQuilombología como una propuesta epistemológica quilombola para el desarrollo del cuidado y la salud, basada en una escucha decolonial e inspirada en el rico acervo asistencial de los pueblos africanos, quilombolas y negros, conservado y actualizado en nuestros quilombos contemporáneos. La metodología utilizada es la escrivivencia, un método desarrollado por Conceição Evaristo quien propone una escrita en que las vivencias y los recuerdos están totalmente involucrados con la investigación. El resultado de la escrivivencia muestra que las personas negras han desarrollado prácticas de cuidado y aceptación de las vulnerabilidades del otro, basadas en el fortalecimiento de lazos y conexiones colectivas de afecto y cuidado mutuos. Prácticas de cuidado que mezclan memoria, ascendencia, tradición, comunidad, transformación, lucha, resistencia y emancipación, perfilando formas colectivas de ser y vivir. El cuidar al otro significa tratar sus relaciones y mantener el cuidado como una extensión de una cura que tiene lugar en lo colectivo. El trabajo concluye que el actual escenario pandémico demuestra la urgente necesidad de desarrollar estrategias de atención basadas en epistemologías negras y quilombolas, y que valoren los sentidos de ascendencia, comunidad, pertenencia y emancipación.(AU)

Having a better home range does not reduce the cost of reproduction in Soay sheep.

A cost of reproduction may not be observable in the presence of environmental or individual heterogeneity because they affect the resources available to individuals. Individual space use is critical in determining both the resources available to individuals and the exposure to factors that mediate the value of these resources (e.g. competition and parasitism). Despite this, there has, to our knowledge, been little research to understand how between-individual differences in resource acquisition, caused by variation in space use, interact with environmental variation occurring at the population scale to influence estimates of the cost of reproduction in natural populations. We used long-term data from the St. Kilda Soay sheep population to understand how differences in age, relative home range quality, and average adult body mass, interacted with annual variation in population density and winter North Atlantic Oscillation index to influence over-winter survival and reproduction in the subsequent year, for females that had invested into reproduction to varying degrees. Our results suggest that Soay sheep females experience costs both in terms of future survival and future reproduction. However, we found little evidence that estimated costs of reproduction vary depending on relative home range quality. There are several possible causes for the lack of a relationship between relative home range quality and our estimate of the costs experienced by females. These include the potential for a correlation between relative home range quality and reproductive allocation to mask a relationship between home range quality and reproductive costs, as well as the potential for the benefit of higher quality home ranges being offset by higher densities. Nevertheless, our results raise questions regarding the presence or context-dependence of relationships between resource access and the estimated cost of reproduction.

Initial Reintroduction of the Aye-Aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis) in Anjajavy Reserve, Northwestern Madagascar.

Madagascar's biodiversity is imperiled by habitat loss and degradation. Furthermore, species may be locally extirpated due to targeted hunting or disease. Translocating at-risk individuals to areas devoid of the species may be an effective conservation intervention. The aye-aye, Daubentonia madagascariensis, is uniquely susceptible to hunting pressure due to a cultural superstition. In June 2018, we reintroduced two aye-ayes in the Anjajavy Reserve, a dry deciduous forest in northwestern Madagascar. The translocated individuals, an adult female and juvenile offspring, were rescued from a neighboring forest that was subjected to pressure from fires and logging. We safely secured and transported the aye-ayes to Anjajavy and put them in a quarantine enclosure, where they were subjected to biomedical and behavioral monitoring. After release in the adjacent, protected forest, we conducted postrelease monitoring of the adult female using radio-tracking and scan sampling to determine ranging and activity patterns. We conducted behavioral observations from October 2018 to February 2019 and collected sleeping site data from October 2018 to September 2019. The female aye-aye fed on local resources including Canariumsp. seeds. During the study period, the aye-aye used 31 nests, occupied a home range of approximately 85 ha and traveled, on average, at a pace of 320 m/h. Our findings are comparable with published data on wild aye-ayes in other regions of Madagascar and provide support for future reintroductions of adult aye-ayes, and potentially other endemic species to the natural and protected habitats of Anjajavy.

Activity budget, home range and diet of the Colombian night monkey (Aotus lemurinus) in peri-urban forest fragments.

Forest fragmentation and deforestation are major threats to primates at a global scale. The survival of primates in forest fragments largely depends on their behavioral and dietary flexibility, as well as their ability to use a modified matrix in anthropogenic landscapes, hence the importance of determining these ecological parameters in habitats with strong anthropic interventions. This paper aims to describe the activity budget and diet of two groups of the Colombian night monkey (Aotus lemurinus) and to estimate their home range in two peri-urban forest fragments in the city of Manizales, Colombia. We combined scan sampling and handheld GPS fixes in order to determine the behavioral, dietary and spatial patterns of the study groups. Night monkeys spent most of their time resting and traveling and were mainly frugivorous relying on at least 26 plant species in their diet. The most consumed plants included Persea americana, Cecropia angustifolia, Musa x paradisiaca, Cecropia telenitida, and Croton cf. mutisianus. Two of these plants are cultivated species and can provide important resources for populations in small forest fragments. Home range sizes were estimated at 1.7 to 1.8 hectares, using a grid count method. Our results suggest the potential adaptability that these primates have when exposed to anthropogenic habitat disturbances and habitat degradation. Nonetheless, future studies should evaluate the influence of demographic factors and resource availability on the behavioral, dietary and spatial patterns of A. lemurinus in peri-urban forests, in order to further understand their ability to cope with the pervasive processes of habitat fragmentation in the northern Andes.

Chimpanzees Use Least-Cost Routes to Out-of-Sight Goals.

While the ability of naturally ranging animals to recall the location of food resources and use straight-line routes between them has been demonstrated in several studies [1, 2], it is not known whether animals can use knowledge of their landscape to walk least-cost routes [3]. This ability is likely to be particularly important for animals living in highly variable energy landscapes, where movement costs are exacerbated [4, 5]. Here, we used least-cost modeling, which determines the most efficient route assuming full knowledge of the environment, to investigate whether chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) living in a rugged, montane environment walk least-cost routes to out-of-sight goals. We compared the "costs" and geometry of observed movements with predicted least-cost routes and local knowledge (agent-based) and straight-line null models. The least-cost model performed better than the local knowledge and straight-line models across all parameters, and linear mixed modeling showed a strong relationship between the cost of observed chimpanzee travel and least-cost routes. Our study provides the first example of the ability to take least-cost routes to out-of-sight goals by chimpanzees and suggests they have spatial memory of their home range landscape. This ability may be a key trait that has enabled chimpanzees to maintain their energy balance in a low-resource environment. Our findings provide a further example of how the advanced cognitive complexity of hominins may have facilitated their adaptation to a variety of environmental conditions and lead us to hypothesize that landscape complexity may play a role in shaping cognition.

Activity budget, home range, and habitat use of moor macaques (Macaca maura) in the karst forest of South Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Primate behavior can be responsive to the different ecological pressures associated with different habitats, as well as to the effects of direct and indirect anthropogenic disturbance. The karst forest ecosystem of South Sulawesi (Indonesia) represents one of the few intact forests available for residual populations of the moor macaque, but our understanding of its habitat use is limited. In the present study, this gap in knowledge was addressed by observing the activity and habitat use of two groups of moor macaques and by assessing the suitability of different habitats in the karst forest. Through a fine-scale vegetation analysis of 1 ha of forest in Bantimurung Bulusaraung National Park, we identified the presence of two distinct habitats that differ in terms of forest structure and composition. The karst plain forest (KPF) provided a greater abundance and diversity of food resources than the karst tower forest (KTF). In addition, anthropogenic disturbance was high in the KPF but low in the KTF. Behavioral data collected via group scans indicate that the macaques devoted more time to feeding activities when in the KPF, suggesting an ability to adjust their feeding behavior to meet their nutritional needs. However, the larger of the two groups used the food-rich KPF more than expected, implying that the KTF may represent a valuable refuge for the smaller group, as it is a less risky portion of its home range. The results of this study therefore provide novel information on the ecology of moor macaques and their habitats that can inform conservation planning for remnant populations.

Spatiotemporal distribution of individuals as an indicator for the social system of Lepilemur sahamalaza.

Primate social systems are highly diverse, complicating the classification of particularly elusive species that are difficult to observe. The spatial distribution of individuals over time is a critica lindicator for the social organization and long-term studies are important to establish patterns of social interactions. In recent years, species of the cryptic, nocturnal sportive lemurs of the genus Lepilemur were found to live in pairs in which a single male and a single female share and defend a mutual home range. The present study aimed to forward research into this underrepresented genus by determining the social organization and structure of the Sahamalaza sportive lemur, L. sahamalaza. We collected 773.15 hr of behavioral and GPS data during a period of 10 months (between 2015 and 2016) on 14 individuals: eight females and six males. There was no evidence of pair-specific home range use as intra- and intersexual home range overlap was high. No pattern of social interactions between focal individuals could be distinguished despite high range overlap. Individuals met and interacted infrequently, resulting in an interaction rate of 0.32 interactions/hr. Sleeping associations between adult individuals were never observed. While both sexes had access to multiple potential mating partners, range sizes or ranging distances did not increase in mating periods. Overall, the social system of Sahamalaza sportive lemurs exhibits aspects of a solitary social organization and structure with potential for the polygamous mating system. These findings underline the importance of detailed social ecology studies that can provide the basis for understanding potential environmental influences on social system variability of closely related species.

A mechanistic theory of personality-dependent movement behaviour based on dynamic energy budgets.

Consistent between-individual differences in movement are widely recognised across taxa. In addition, foraging plasticity at the within-individual level suggests a behavioural dependency on the internal energy demand. Because behaviour co-varies with fast-slow life history (LH) strategies in an adaptive context, as theoretically predicted by the pace-of-life syndrome hypothesis, mass/energy fluxes should link behaviour and its plasticity with physiology at both between- and within-individual levels. However, a mechanistic framework driving these links in a fluctuating ecological context is lacking. Focusing on home range behaviour, we propose a novel behavioural-bioenergetics theoretical model to address such complexities at the individual level based on energy balance. We propose explicit mechanistic links between behaviour, physiology/metabolism and LH by merging two well-founded theories, the movement ecology paradigm and the dynamic energetic budget theory. Overall, our behavioural-bioenergetics model integrates the mechanisms explaining how (1) behavioural between- and within-individual variabilities connect with internal state variable dynamics, (2) physiology and behaviour are explicitly interconnected by mass/energy fluxes, and (3) different LHs may arise from both behavioural and physiological variabilities in a given ecological context. Our novel theoretical model reveals encouraging opportunities for empiricists and theoreticians to delve into the eco-evolutionary processes that favour or hinder the development of between-individual differences in behaviour and the evolution of personality-dependent movement syndromes.

Quadratic relationships between group size and foraging efficiency in a herbivorous primate.

The effect of feeding competition on foraging efficiency is an important link between ecological factors and the social organization of gregarious species. We examined the effects of group size on daily travel distances, activity budgets, and energy intake of mountain gorillas in Rwanda. We measured daily travel distances of five groups, activity budgets of 79 gorillas in nine groups, and energy intake data for 23 adult females in three groups over a 16-month period. Travel distances and the proportion of time spent traveling increased with size for most groups, which would be expected if their foraging efficiency is limited by intragroup feeding competition. However, travel distances and times decreased for the largest group, which also had higher energy intake rates than intermediate sized groups. The improved foraging efficiency of the largest group may be explained by advantages in intergroup contest competition. The largest group had much lower home range overlap than the other study groups which may be due to groups avoiding one another as a result of male mating competition. Collectively, our results indicate that intermediate sized groups had the lowest foraging efficiency and provide a new twist on the growing evidence of non-linear relationships between group size and foraging efficiency in primates.

Sex-biased dispersal of human ancestors.

Some anthropologists and primatologists have argued that, judging by extant chimpanzees and humans, which are female-biased dispersers, the common ancestors of humans and chimpanzees were also female-biased dispersers. It has been thought that sex-biased dispersal patterns have been genetically transmitted for millions of years. However, this character has changed many times with changes in environment and life-form during human evolution and historical times. I examined life-form and social organization of nonhuman primates, among them gatherers (foragers), hunter-gatherers, agriculturalists, industrialists, and modern and extant humans. I conclude that dispersal patterns changed in response to environmental conditions during primate and human evolution.

Fine-scale assessment of home ranges and activity patterns for resident black vultures (Coragyps atratus) and turkey vultures (Cathartes aura).

Knowledge of black vulture (Coragyps atratus) and turkey vulture (Cathartes aura) spatial ecology is surprisingly limited despite their vital ecological roles. Fine-scale assessments of space use patterns and resource selection are particularly lacking, although development of tracking technologies has allowed data collection at finer temporal and spatial resolution. Objectives of this study were to conduct the first assessment of monthly home range and core area sizes of resident black and turkey vultures with consideration to sex, as well as elucidate differences in monthly, seasonal, and annual activity patterns based on fine-scale movement data analyses. We collected 2.8-million locations for 9 black and 9 turkey vultures from June 2013 -August 2015 using solar-powered GSM/GPS transmitters. We quantified home ranges and core areas using the dynamic Brownian bridge movement model and evaluated differences as a function of species, sex, and month. Mean monthly home ranges for turkey vultures were ~50% larger than those of black vultures, although mean core area sizes did not differ between species. Turkey vulture home ranges varied little across months, with exception to a notable reduction in space-use in May, which corresponds with timing of chick-rearing activities. Black vulture home ranges and core areas as well as turkey vulture core areas were larger in breeding season months (January-April). Comparison of space use between male and female vultures was only possible for black vultures, and space use was only slightly larger for females during breeding months (February-May). Analysis of activity patterns revealed turkey vultures spend more time in flight and switch motion states (between flight and stationary) more frequently than black vultures across temporal scales. This study reveals substantive variability in space use and activity rates between sympatric black and turkey vultures, providing insights into potential behavioral mechanisms contributing to niche differentiation between these species.

How Many for Lunch Today? Seasonal Fission-Fusion Dynamics as a Feeding Strategy in Wild Red-Capped Mangabeys (Cercocebus torquatus).

For group-living primates, social organization hinges upon multiple factors, including group size, group cohesion, and the group's age and sex composition. Fission-fusion dynamics reduce the risks of living in a large group, which can include feeding competition related to the seasonality of resources. Here we report on the group dynamics (i.e. formation of parties) of a population of red-capped mangabeys (Cercocebus torquatus) located in Sentier Nature forest, South Loango National Park, Gabon, and examine the role of fruit availability in episodes of fission-fusion and shifting range use during the peak fruiting season of 2014. To assess fission-fusion dynamics, we obtained data on party type (i.e. number, size and age-sex composition), the effect of availability of fruit from 4 tree species on the home range and habitat used by parties, and the periodicity of these processes. The results show that red-capped mangabeys displayed seasonal fission-fusion dynamics related to fruit availability during the season under study.

Does kinship affect spatial organization in a small and isolated population of a solitary felid: The Eurasian lynx?

Social organization in wild carnivores is mostly determined by patterns of family bonds, which may shape the degree of relatedness among individuals in the population. We studied kinship in a small and isolated population of a solitary carnivore, the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) to evaluate its effect on spatial distribution of individuals. We investigated the relationship between spatial location and pair-wise kinship among 28 lynx individuals identified in 2004-2011 by telemetry, non-invasive sampling and genotyping with the use of 12 autosomal microsatellites in the Bialowieza Primeval Forest, Poland. The average relatedness of the lynx population was relatively low (Lynch and Ritland's R = 0.03). Females were significantly more related to each other than males with other males. The inferred pedigree showed that the population was dominated by only 2 familial groups. We did not find significant correlations between the relatedness and the extent of home range overlap or the straight-line distances between the home ranges' central points. These results suggest that the dynamics of kinship in this solitary felid may not differ from the random mating processes described in social carnivores. Although the chances of random mating could be limited to a few resident males and females, the presence of unrelated floaters may provide a "breeding buffer" that may prevent an increase of relatedness and likely inbreeding in the population. This system is likely to fail in preserving genetic diversity in small, highly isolated populations; therefore, restoring habitat connectivity is crucial to ensure sufficient immigration from neighboring populations.

Energy expenditure of the spotted snow skink, Niveoscincus ocellatus, at two climatic extremes of its distribution range.

The study of energy expenditure between populations of a wide ranging ectothermic species may provide an insight into how organisms respond to variation in environmental conditions. In this study, the energy expenditure of male spotted snow skinks, Niveoscincus ocellatus, living at the two extremes of the species' distribution range (warm lowland versus cold alpine site) was measured using the doubly labelled water method. Males at the cold alpine site expended more energy per gram per hour compared to their counterparts living at the warm lowland site. Lizards living at high altitude were active at lower temperatures compared with those at the low altitude site, which resulted in a longer activity time for the highland population. However, the differences in energy expenditure cannot be explained only by these differences in activity time. We further suggest that at the cold alpine site, lizards compensated for the low temperatures by elevating their metabolism which subsequently increased their energy expenditure. An elevated metabolic rate combined with modified thermoregulatory behaviour is likely an important mechanism allowing N. ocellatus to cope with the cold environments at high altitude sites.

Social organization and space use of a wild mandrill (Mandrillus sphinx) group.

Mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx) are enigmatic Old World primates whose social organization and ecology remain poorly known. Previous studies indicated, for example, that groups are composed of only adult females and their young or that several units composed of one adult male and several females make up larger permanent social units. Here, we present the first data on group composition and male ranging patterns from the only habituated wild mandrill group and examine how home range size and daily path length varied with environmental and demographic factors over a 15-month period. Our study site is located in southern Gabon where we followed the group on a daily basis, collecting data on presence, ranging, behavior, and parasite load of its individual members. Throughout the study, the group was made up of about 120 individuals, including several non-natal and natal adult and sub-adult males. One-male units were never observed. The mandrills traveled an estimated 0.44-6.50 km/day in a home range area of 866.7 ha. Exploratory analyses revealed that precipitation, the number of adult males present, and the richness of protozoan parasites were all positively correlated with daily path length. These results clarify the social system of mandrills and provide first insights into the factors that shape their ranging patterns.

Ranging, activity budget, and diet composition of red titi monkeys (Callicebus cupreus) in primary forest and forest edge.

Deforestation and fragmentation of tropical rainforests are increasingly creating forest edges and corresponding edge effects. Furthermore, primary forest is increasingly being replaced by secondary forest. The presence of high population densities of titi monkeys in fragmented and secondary forests suggests that they are capable of adapting to such habitat alterations. The aim of our study was to examine the ability of the red titi monkey (Callicebus cupreus) to adapt to forest edges and secondary forest. We compared home-range use, activity budgets, and diet composition in two groups of monkeys: one in primary forest and the other in primary forest with a long edge bordering secondary forest. The latter group avoided the secondary forest and used the edge in proportion to its availability. Groups did not differ in activity budgets but did show slight differences in diet composition. Taken together, our results suggest that there are no major effects of forest edges and secondary forest on red titi monkeys; however, given the relatively short study period, generalizations should be avoided until more comparative data become available. Furthermore, the age or successional stage of the secondary forest must be taken into consideration when drawing conclusions about its suitability as a primate habitat.

The cost of reproduction: differential resource specialization in female and male California sea otters.

Intraspecific variation in behavior and diet can have important consequences for population and ecosystem dynamics. Here, we examine how differences in reproductive investment and spatial ecology influence individual diet specialization in male and female southern sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis). We hypothesize that greater reproductive constraints and smaller home ranges of females lead to more pronounced intraspecific competition and increased specialization. We integrate stable carbon (δ(13)C) and nitrogen (δ(15)N) isotope analysis of sea otter vibrissae with long-term observational studies of five subpopulations in California. We define individual diet specialization as low ratios of within-individual variation (WIC) to total population niche width (TNW). We compare isotopic and observational based metrics of WIC/TNW for males and females to data on population densities, and movement patterns using both general linear and linear mixed-effects models. Consistent with our hypothesis, increasing population density is associated with increased individual diet specialization by females but not by males. Additionally, we find the amount of coastline in a sea otter's home range positively related with individual dietary variability, with increased range span resulting in weaker specialization for both males and females. We attribute our results to sex-based differences in movement, with females needing to specialize in their small ranges to maximize energy gain, and posit that the paradigm of individual prey specialization in sea otters with increased intraspecific competition may be a pattern driven largely by females. Our work highlights a potentially broader role of sex in the mechanistic pressures promoting and maintaining diet specialization.

Pesticide risk assessment in free-ranging bees is weather and landscape dependent.

The risk assessment of plant protection products on pollinators is currently based on the evaluation of lethal doses through repeatable lethal toxicity laboratory trials. Recent advances in honeybee toxicology have, however, raised interest on assessing sublethal effects in free-ranging individuals. Here, we show that the sublethal effects of a neonicotinoid pesticide are modified in magnitude by environmental interactions specific to the landscape and time of exposure events. Field sublethal assessment is therefore context dependent and should be addressed in a temporally and spatially explicit way, especially regarding weather and landscape physiognomy. We further develop an analytical Effective Dose (ED) framework to help disentangle context-induced from treatment-induced effects and thus to alleviate uncertainty in field studies. Although the ED framework involves trials at concentrations above the expected field exposure levels, it allows to explicitly delineating the climatic and landscape contexts that should be targeted for in-depth higher tier risk assessment.

A face in the crowd: a non-invasive and cost effective photo-identification methodology to understand the fine scale movement of eastern water dragons.

Ectothermic vertebrates face many challenges of thermoregulation. Many species rely on behavioral thermoregulation and move within their landscape to maintain homeostasis. Understanding the fine-scale nature of this regulation through tracking techniques can provide a better understanding of the relationships between such species and their dynamic environments. The use of animal tracking and telemetry technology has allowed the extensive collection of such data which has enabled us to better understand the ways animals move within their landscape. However, such technologies do not come without certain costs: they are generally invasive, relatively expensive, can be too heavy for small sized animals and unreliable in certain habitats. This study provides a cost-effective and non-invasive method through photo-identification, to determine fine scale movements of individuals. With our methodology, we have been able to find that male eastern water dragons (Intellagama leuseurii) have home ranges one and a half times larger than those of females. Furthermore, we found intraspecific differences in the size of home ranges depending on the time of the day. Lastly, we found that location mostly influenced females' home ranges, but not males and discuss why this may be so. Overall, we provide valuable information regarding the ecology of the eastern water dragon, but most importantly demonstrate that non-invasive photo-identification can be successfully applied to the study of reptiles.

Activity budget, diet, and habitat use in the critically endangered Ka'apor capuchin monkey (Cebus kaapori) in Pará State, Brazil: a preliminary comparison to other capuchin monkeys.

The Ka'apor capuchin, Cebus kaapori, is perhaps the most endangered primate of the Brazilian Amazon. Endemic to a region with extreme intensification of habitat-degrading activities, it survives in remnant populations in a completely fragmented landscape. Before now, the only data available were isolated observations of feeding, locality records, and information on population densities and group size obtained during census. Here we present the first data on the activity budget, diet, and daily path length of the species, and compare our preliminary results with those for other capuchin monkeys. A group of nine Ka'apor capuchins was monitored over a period of four months during the dry season in the Goianésia do Pará municipality, Pará, Brazil. We used instantaneous scan sampling (n = 4,647 scans) to construct an activity budget for the monkeys, and we identified the plants in their diet to species level (n = 41 plant taxa), allowing us to compare dietary overlap with other gracile capuchin species, as well as with the robust capuchin (Sapajus spp.), a potential competitor present throughout the range of the Ka'apor capuchin. Like other species of gracile capuchins, C. kaapori was highly frugivorous, with the vast majority of the feeding records of arils and fruit pulp (74%), supplemented by arthropods (13%) and seeds (10%), although diet composition was highly variable across months. The group used a total area of 62.4 ha during the study period, and average daily path length was 2,173 m (±400 m), with the entire home range utilized in every month of the study. We found significant overlap in the diet of the Ka'apor capuchin and Sapajus, highlighting the urgency to increase knowledge of the ecological needs of C. kaapori and understand synergistic effects of sympatry with competitive species, increasing forest fragmentation, and widespread human impact on C. kaapori sustainability.